Page 43 of Strike A Chord

“We should have the rest of your band over to finish this song. It’ll be perfect for the CD. Think you guys can be studio ready come Monday?” My eyes widened as my mind raced through all that entailed.

“I’m sure we can make it work. Does Jason know where the new practice space is?” Another ding, and there was the information with the address and time from Easton. Damn, that man was fast. Evidently this was a new group chat Easton set up between Chaotic, himself, and Jeremiah. The guys immediately fired back they’d be there tomorrow.

“And Stoli, I’ve reached out to Reagan and Fizzbo and have booked the bar and guards for the Wednesday night after Christmas for you and Josh to perform an acoustic set,” Easton said as his fingers furiously typed away.

“What’s a Fizzbo?”

Everyone laughed but it was Stoli who replied. “Remember the hulking figure that got between us and you when you came to the stage at Rocktoberfest?”

“Yeah. That dude was massive.”

“He’s the head of the security company Masterson hired and yes, he’s a large man.” Diamond’s chest puffed up at Easton’s words. “Down, boy.” That explained why he was there and why the other guards jumped at his barked commands. “Eventually it will get to where Chaotic will be assigned two guards of their own. Social and Maiden have their own teams, due to their presence in the world. Embrace does at times run into fan frenzies and when word gets out Social is working with Chaotic, your life will change even more.”

“And Reagan is good with all of this?” I had a bad feeling things were about to spiral out of control. If this overwhelmed Reagan, what bearing would that have on our relationship? “I know he mentioned having to notify the hotel manager about it.”

“Yes,” Easton glanced up from his phone. “We had a zoom call this morning with both of them. This is great PR for Chaotic and also keeps Social in the fan feed while they’re on a touring hiatus.”

There were so many aspects to all of this band management stuff, things I’d never thought of, and Easton had a pulse on it all.

“Will there be a ticket charge? Also, I, um, I can’t sing so is Jason coming?”

“I was thinking we’d just play but maybe having Jason there would be best.” Stoli’s mind was up to something. “I definitely want us to play ‘Lone Wolf.’ We’ll run through the set next, that way you and Jason can focus on those songs at practice tomorrow.”

“Thanks, you guys, for everything. It means a lot that you’ve given me this chance.” I choked up and stumbled as I spoke.

“Everyone deserves a second chance, Josh. Hatred blinds and I’ll be the first to admit I was wrong about you.” Stoli was killing me with this shit.

Chapter Eighteen

Reagan

Christmas morning was nice. Mom and I usually didn’t do more than exchange a couple gifts and have breakfast together. The bar opened at four p.m. and closed at ten and I always volunteered to work that shift. This year it was me, Della, and Josh so Daniel and Holly could have the day off. As expected, we had a steady stream of patrons but thankfully nothing like our nights had been. Especially considering I was the only one working the grill between making drinks.

Before we knew it, Wednesday was here, and Josh was nervous as hell. Josh, Stoli and Jason would be on stage around eight. Thankfully, I’d finally built an actual stage with the help of the contractor I’d hired for the expansion. The hotel owner asked if I’d be willing to take over a portion of the dining room next to the bar that was rarely used. I jumped all over that with the plan to knock out the wall behind the bar. With talent back on the docket, I’d relocated the bar itself to the back wall and placed the stage in the center of the room so there would be a 360-degree visibility to watch their performances. It would add more seating and room for another bartender with the extended bar, too.

Josh had been so busy between practice and the recording studio we’d hardly had any time together. Then again, I’d been equally as busy with the bar renovations. No time to get the plans together for our house but it would come in time. Maybe this weekend, though I still hadn’t shown him the bar plans either.

“Hey, babe,” Josh came around the bar to give me a kiss. “The line’s around the block.”

“I know they say bad press is good press, but considering how hard I’ve worked to increase foot traffic I would hate bad press on what should be a great night.” I could see the headlines already, sucked, not enough room or never got in after we waited for hours. Fingers crossed that all would go smoothly though I wasn’t naïve enough to believe that. Easton had sent their tech team in to set up speakers throughout the bar to ensure those who attended could hear no matter where they sat.

“What can I do to help?” Josh had come a long way since we started dating. Happier, more energetic, always willing to jump in and get dirty alongside me.

“Let’s grab some extra bottles for the top selling drinks.” We grabbed a couple empty boxes, loaded them up and set them behind the bar to pull from as needed. When we returned, Joey and Stoli were there setting up the stage alongside Jason and a couple of techs. “Sorry it’s not much. Space regulations and all that.”

“No worries, Reagan,” Stoli patted my shoulder. “It’s perfect for what we’ve planned.”

Security stood ready to check IDs since this was a twenty-one and over show. When the doors opened, the bar filled to max capacity in no time at all. I felt bad for those who couldn’t get in but with everyone from both Chaotic Abyss and Social Sinners plus Mickey’s partners in the house, there was no way some wouldn’t be turned away. This night would be insane. This was huge for Josh, and I wanted it to be perfect.

“All right, Seattle, welcome and thanks for coming out.” Jason’s words riled them up and a series of whistles and shouts rang out as the place morphed into standing room only. “Tonight, we’ll be playing a couple new songs from our upcoming CD slated to be released in the spring next year. Generally, I’m here for lyrics but I’m gonna pull an audible on these two guys sitting me behind me.” Stoli was cool and collected while Josh’s eyes widened, a mixture of excitement and horror. “This first new song, “Lone Wolf,” was written by Josh Gray for his special someone.” My head spun toward him so fast I was amazed I didn’t get whiplash. “So, I’m going to have Mr. Gray sing it to him. I’ll join in and harmonize but I’m doing this to prove something to him —he can indeed sing.”

Silence filled the air and I swore Josh was ready to bail. Daniel pushed me toward the stage and Stoli nudged Josh as Jason lowered the mic to the level it needed to be as both Josh and Stoli were seated for tonight with their acoustic guitars on their laps. Without another word, Josh and Stoli strummed the opening chords in perfect unison and Josh’s deep timbre was all I heard as it filtered through the air.

Loner, loser, that’s all I’ve ever been

Bastard, misfit, delusional sinner

Take your pick, throw your worst

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